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"It will represent an important symbol of our friendship and will bring our two people closer together."

Malcolm Roughead, the chief executive of VisitScotland, said: "Giant pandas are among the most beautiful mammals in the world, with their rarity only adding to their allure. Indeed, zoos which are home to pandas have experienced significant increases in visitor numbers.

"Edinburgh Zoo is already the second most popular paid-for attraction in Scotland and I have no doubt that, when Tian Tian and Yangguang are added to its world-class collection of animals, even more people will flock to Scotland's capital for a chance to see these magnificent creatures at close quarters."

The visit of Mr Li came two months after David Cameron took a trade mission to Beijing to promote business links between the UK and China and the two men met yesterday in Downing Street. Mr Li is widely tipped to become Chinese premier.

However, the deals announced yesterday only amount to £2.6 billion in value.

In November, before Mr Cameron went to China and came away with £1 billion of business, Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, secured almost $20bn of trade for French companies.

Among the other deals announced yesterday was one between Scotland's biggest mainland oil refinery and a Chinese oil company which it is claimed will secure the long-term future of jobs and skills at the plant.

Ineos, a privately owned chemical firm, has drawn up plans for a trading partnership with PetroChina, which will see investment into its refining operations at Grangemouth, as well as a plant in Lavera, France. Ineos also signed an agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation to share oil-refining technology.

The deal between Ineos and PetroChina could lead to joint ventures in trading and refining between the two firms, but the specific details are yet to be drawn up.

Meanwhile, BP and the China National Offshore Oil Corp signed an agreement on deep-water exploration in the South China Sea, while Jaguar Land Rover committed to sell 40,000 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, valued at more than £1 billion, in China in 2011.

Mr Li arrived in England from Edinburgh where his visit coincided with a £6.4 million agreement to introduce renewable energy technology pioneered in Scotland into China.